A Delhi lawyer arrested by Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) in a 16-year-old kidnapping case in Rajkot — in which international mafia and terrorist groups were allegedly involved — has come out of jail on bail. Lawyer Shailendra Singh, 45, came out of Rajkot Central Jail Thursday, said his advocate Piyush Shah. Singh surrendered his passport to the trial court, as directed, Friday and left for Delhi, added Shah.

The case is about the kidnapping of Rajkot jeweller Bhaskar Parekh and his friend Paresh Shah on November 11, 2000. The two were kidnapped, allegedly on the orders of a Dubai-based mafia group and supported by Asif Reza Khan and Aftab Ahmed Ansari, the alleged founding member of Indian Mujahideen.

Police rescued Shah from Bharuch on November 26, but Parekh was taken to Delhi and released by kidnappers on December 1, 2000 after they were paid Rs 1.5 crore ransom, according to Detection of Crime Branch of Rajkot City police. The ransom was to be used for funding terror activities in India and to carry out attacks on politicians, said police. According to investigators, the car used to release Parekh belonged to Singh.

Singh moved Rajkot District and Sessions Court on May 23 for regular bail. Exercising discretionary power, the court granted him bail on June 8, observing, “… As the applicant is active legal practitioner in Delhi, having his family there, he is not likely to flee… from justice.”